Arthrotest, from Bioibérica Farma, winner of Diario Médico's Best Health Ideas 2013

Arthrotest, from Bioiberica Farma, has won a "Best Health Ideas 2013" award for its innovation and contribution to improving the quality of life of osteoarthritis patients. The award, from the specialist publication Diario Médico, recognises the daily work of the people, institutions and companies whose contributions helped improve medicine, healthcare and health throughout 2013. 

Arthrotest is the first DNA saliva test that predicts a patient's genetic predisposition to suffering from rapid progression knee osteoarthritis. The test went on sale in May. It is a unique product on the market which allows physicians to identify patients with a poor prognosis and who therefore have an elevated risk of requiring prosthetic surgery within a short period of time. 

This new prognostic tool was one of the winners in the “Research and Pharmacology” category, as the test was shored up by a four-year multicentre clinical study involving 281 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis, 31 Spanish health centres and professionals from different specialties (rheumatologists, orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists and primary care physicians). 

For Bioiberica Farma, a Spanish company specialising in joint health, the prize is an acknowledgement of its commitment to innovation and research. The prize was accepted by the project's two principal investigators: Dr. Josep Vergés, Bioibérica Medical and Science director, and Prof. Francisco J. Blanco, a rheumatologist at the Juan Canalejo University Hospital in La Coruña.